Treating Christmas with Respect

by Abdul Malik Mujahid

Christmas is an annual Christian
religious holiday commemorating the birth of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon
him. For many Muslims who even do not celebrate the birthday of the Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, it becomes an issue of what stand they should
take.

There have been a number of
legitimate criticisms of the holiday from Muslims and non-Muslims based
on theological and cultural considerations. However, this cannot be used
to disregard the holiday as merely an exercise in ancient pagan practices,
for instance, or excessive consumerism. Muslims have to remember that
for practicing Christians, Christmas really is about Jesus.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, was so accommodating of Christians that according to the two earliest
Islamic historians, Ibn e Saad and Ibn Hisham, the Prophet even allowed
a delegation of 60 Byzantine Christians from Najran in Yemen to worship
in his own mosque in Madinah. Lead by their bishop (Usquf), they had come
to discuss a number of issues with him. When time of their prayer came,
they asked the Prophet's permission to perform this in the mosque. He
answered, "conduct your service here in the mosque. It is a place
consecrated to God."

God expects us to stay away
from mocking the religious beliefs of others, no matter how much we disagree
with them. He says in the Quran: "And insult not those whom they
(disbelievers) worship besides God, lest they insult God wrongfully without
knowledge. Thus We have made fair-seeming to each people its own doings;
then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all
that they used to do" (Quran, 6:108).

We also have to remember that
even if for many nominal Christians, the celebration is not really about
participating in religious traditions, Christmas is a time for families
to get together. In a number of cases it is the only time of year families
get together, either because family members are scattered in different
parts of the country or the world, because of communication and relationship
problems, or because in America today, the family unit is becoming weaker
and weaker.

Christmas is a great time to
relate to our neighbors. We should not forget though, that "relating"
does not mean "preaching". Dawa cannot be made in a rude
manner. Allah says in the Quran: "Invite (all) to the Way of
your Lord with wisdom and beautiful advice, and reason with them by ways
that are the best and most gracious: because your Lord knows best, (those)
who have strayed from His Path, and those who receive guidance "
(Quran, 16:125).

In particular, when dealing
with Jews and Christians, Allah says: "Do not argue with the People
of the Book unless it is in the politest manner, except for those of them
who do wrong. Say: 'We believe in what has been sent down to us and what
has been sent down to you. Our God and your God is [the same] One, and
we are Muslims before Him'" (Quran, 29:46).

This may not be an occasion
to emphasis the differences as much as the commonality of our beliefs,
unless someone is really asking you about them.

A starting point for a discussion
about Christmas could be the Islamic belief in all Books revealed by Allah
and all Prophets sent by Him. In this discussion, special emphasis could
be made on Prophet Jesus. Non-Muslims are often surprised to discover
that Muslims also believe in this
noble Prophet and his great mother Mary (peace be upon her).

Remember that respect does not
mean compromise. This article is not asking you to compromise anything.
You have freedom of religion given by God to believe in what you believe
in. But in a world where conflict is increasing, a Muslim should be a
bridge- builder and a peacemaker. It was due to the Muslim practice of
Islamic
ideals of respect and tolerance that the key of the holiest Christian
Shrine in Jerusalem, the church of the Holy Sepulcher, remains entrusted
with a Muslim family, as it has been for over 1400 years.

These are the lessons which
need to be learned by those extremists who attack Christians during their
worship in Nigeria and those extremists who burn Masjids in the USA.